Re-formed last and process of making same.



S. C. MASON.

' RE-FORMED LAST AND PROCESS OF MAKING SAME.

APPLICATION .FILED MAY 9.1918

1,322,258. Patented 1m. 18, 1919.

,Z'hveni'ar:

72 f m 7 adj.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

SAMUEL C. MASON, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB' TO. VICTOR LAST COMPANY, I O1 LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, A, CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

I BE-FORMED LAST AND PROCESS OF MAKING SAME.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedNov. 18, 1919.

Application filed an 9, 1918. Serial in. 233,541.

To all whom it may concem: Be it known that I, SAMUEL 0. Mason, a citizen of the United States, and resident of .Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improve-' ment in Re-Formed Lasts and Prooesses'of Making Same, of which the following description, 1n connection with the accom of changing from one style of shoe to another necessitates the junking of the lasts on "which the discarded style has been made and the purchase of a complete new set of lasts on which to manufacture the new style.

'tically'a dead loss even though they The discarded lasts therefore become-pram may be in -a relatively sound condition an capable of giving satisfactory service for a long time; The loss thus involved seems particularly unnecessary since most changes'in style involve merely relatively slight changes in the shape and dimensions of the parts of the last near the toe. Usually these changes in style consist merely in modifying the contour of the toe itself or in changing the outline of the outer edge of the forepart near the .ti of the'toe, or in minor varlations in the width of the extreme toe portion of the last and the necessary modifications in the lines around the toe ito agree with these changes in width.

The present invention aims to reduce the loss thus involved in chan ing from one style of last to another an it provides a novel last construction and a novel rocess of reformin or iepairing lasts which enable a menu acturcr to convert lasts of one style into lasts of a very different style at an expense which is very small indeed when compared with the cost of new lasts.

The manner in which it is proposed to accompli'shthis object will be readily understood from the following description and the novel features of the invention will be particularly -pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now; to the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a last embodying the present invention;

- toe joint.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation s'howinga ortion of a last undergoing'the-process'g 0 'reforming or repair devised by this invention;

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the lastat'a later stage in the process of reforming ;'-i, I

Fig. 4 is a plan view showing a last when this process has been substantially completed; and v 5 is a bottom view of the last shown in Fig. 4, but showing this last equipped with a reinforcing plate. 1

According to the present process the ,portion of the last in which the in shape is to be made is first removed; a new piece is then inserted in the place oftlie part so removed and finally this shaped to the required contour.- As stove, stated, the style .of the last is determ ned. chiefly by variations in height, widthand; contour of the toe and in the shape of. the,

outline of the last as it sweeps from the 62-? treme tip of the toe back toward the littlef 16 Accordingly an asymmetrical-- portion ofjthe last 2 including the outer side-,1

of the fore art, which portion "determines,

the style of ast, is cut away, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3,- preferably by a' saw out. a' 5.0 startin from a point a short distance be. hind ti parallel to the outer edge ofvthe last and v another saw cut 1) extending from this outcr edge at an acute angle tothe cut a and meet? ing this cut at a point'to one side 'of 'theinstep. A wedge piece 3' is then fitted into the notch so formed to take the lace of the' part that has been removed an is secured rigidly to the forepart of the last lit-any convenient manner, as, forinstance, by glue." Preferably the grain in the pieceso inserted runs lengthwise of this 'pieceeso that it lie at'an angle to the grain of the a the forepart and-thus provide a stronger 96 construction with which to work' The last equipped with this wedge iece is next set into a last turnin lathe an i the. toe portion is turned, the orward end of the repair piece 3 afiordin ample material for engagement with the o of the lathe; The contour and style of' t e last wlll of course depend on the shape and style of the L model used in performing the turnin eration; and the repair part 3 a abundant material with which to vary 'su'b-' stantially the style given to the last, as in dicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3 which v show two difi'erent. contours that could be given to the toe part of the last. It isobvious that the style might be changed even more radically than in the manner indicated in Fig. 3. After the turning operation has been completed the last is finished in the usual manner and the toe portion of the last l expenseinvolved is relatively small. At the same time a very substantial and rigid construction is provided which will have ractically as long a life, provided the rema nder of the last is in sound condition, as would a newlast. Since this process does not dist'urb any of the hardware with which the last usually is equipped no expense is involved in'renewing this hardware. It will also be noted that thepeculiar cuts made in the forepart of the last to receivethe repair piece and the correspondingly peculiar shape of this piece,.that is, the fact that it has a wedge shaped portion extending toward the heel of the last, are oflpracti'cal advantage since the forces exerted on the last during the turning o 'eration and cluringthe manufacture of s oes on it tend to force the inserted piece into the recess or notch formed for it in the fore'part of the husband thus assist in retaining this piece in its operative position instead of tending to remove it from this position, whichmight be the eifect with a difi'erent con-'- struction.

As a further means of reinforcingthe last, the bottom of the toe portion may be notched, as indicated at 6, Fig. 2, to receive a toe plate 7, Figs. 1 and 5, this'plate having an outline conforming to the outline of the toe portion of the last and being secured both to the wood of the original last and also to the repair piece-5. A notch 8 is cut in the reinforcing plate 7 to permit the driving of the toe tack into the wood of the last at the point where the tack is usually insertedto secure the insole to the last;

What is claimed as new, is:

1. A last having a recess formed in the toe portion of the side of the forepart from top to bottom and across the toe portion, aniinsert set-into said recess having a wedge-shaped portion extending toward the heel of the last with the w surface of the insert coiiperating with the surface of the adjacent parts of the last to form the upper supporting and sole supporting surfaces cf the last.

' 2. A repaired last'havin'g a recess forg'ned in the side of the forepart from, top to hottom'and across the toe portion, Ian msert'set into said recess having a wedge-shaped ortion with a toe plate fitted to both the in 'sert and theadjacent part of the last and finished flush therewith at the rear of said plate.

3. A wooden last having a wooden insert set asymmetrically into the forepart of the last, the surface of said insert conforming.

to the contour of the adjacent parts of the last and coiiperating with said parts to determine the style of the last, and a. toe plate on the bottom of the last secured both to said insert and alsofto the adjacent part of the last. V

4. The improved process of; repairing a last which consists in forming a recess in the side of the fore art extending across the toe portion and mm top to bottom of the last fitting a new. piece in said recess havin the grain of the wood extending different y from that'of the last, securmg of said insert and then shaping the inserted piece to conform to the contour of the adj acent parts of the last and then fittin a toe plate to both the insert and the a jacent parts.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses. 4

SAMUEL G. MASON. Witnesses:

JAMES R. Hoomeu, HAROLD J. CLAs-K. 

